


More To Life

by moonflowers



Series: Fili is a merdude WTF [1]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Human Kíli, M/M, Mer Fili, So does this still count as incest, They're obviously not related
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-31
Updated: 2013-07-31
Packaged: 2017-12-22 00:39:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/906860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonflowers/pseuds/moonflowers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kili goes on holiday in an attempt to forget a bad break-up. But all thoughts of single life are cast aside when he meets a mysterious stranger in the ocean.<br/>Mer!Fili.</p>
            </blockquote>





	More To Life

**Author's Note:**

> There is some really lovely fanart/fics featuring mer based Fili/Kili at the moment, and I just wanted to give it a go.  
> I've tried to keep it as different to other people's as possible lol.  
> I wanted this to be a big multi-chapter thing, but I've kept it as a one shot for now, until I know when I can write the rest haa.

Kili is proud of the fact that he’s so far managed to avoid the hotel bar. And the number of other small and overpriced cocktail bars that grace the length of the beach, for that matter. He’d planned to visit them: the moment the plane landed, he had intended to get hideously drunk and forget all about his cheating manwhore of an ex-boyfriend in a haze of rum and mini cocktail umbrellas. But then he’d seen just how close his chosen hotel was to the ocean, blue and fresh and glittering, and he couldn’t help himself. He’d dumped his suitcase in his room, grabbed his shorts, and headed back out before he could change his mind.

Half an hour later, and he’s floating on his back in the water, so much warmer and inviting than the chilling grey seas England boasted. His mind is blessedly clear, empty of anything but the water lapping at his skin and the sun starting to burn his chest. That is until his head dips back a little too far into the sea and his ear fills with water. Sputtering, he rights himself and shakes his head in an effort to dislodge it. It’s then he realises that he’s a lot further out into the water than the rest of the swimmers; maybe too far to be safe in unfamiliar waters. Reluctantly, he starts to swim back towards the shore and the selection of alcoholic beverages it offers to those who need to forget.  
It’s at that moment that a man surfaces a few feet away from him, flicking wet hair back from his face. Blonde hair, darkened with water and clumping in tendrils down his back. His chest is broad and his arms thick, covered with a smattering of fine, light hair. His eyes are the same colour as the ocean, and if first impressions count for anything, Kili doesn’t think the man could have made a better one. 

“Hi.”

The strangers starts, and turns to face him, slightly panicked expression on his face as though he wasn’t expecting to see anyone else out in the water. “Erm. Hello.”

“I thought it was just me stupid enough to swim all the way out here,” Kili shrugs as best as the water allows, and offers the blonde a smile to let him know he’s joking, “but apparently I’m not the only one lured out by the beauty of the ocean.”

“No,” the man clears his throat, still a little flustered,” no. I – I love the water.”

Kili laughs. “I don’t. Not at home anyway, it’s too cold. Me and my brother almost drowned once, helping my uncle drag a horse out of a river on a poorly thought out riding holiday. But here,” he looks out over the flat blue, “I find it surprisingly fulfilling.”

Apparently this is the right thing to say, as the man seems calmer now, lips quirked in amusement. “Me too.”

Kili flips over to float on his back again. “Plus, it’s a brilliant reminder that the world doesn’t end with one bad boyfriend.” The man doesn’t reply this time, and Kili fears he’s made him uncomfortable. “There’s more to life than that, eh?” They float there together a while longer, Kili chatting about inane things and trying not to whine too much about his ex. He is only partially successful. If nothing else, blonde and handsome is a good listener.  
After what feels only moments later, Kili’s skin is starting to feel too wrinkled and soft for comfort, and he deems it time to get back to the hotel and dry off.  
“Well, thanks for putting up with my complaining.” He gives a slightly rueful grin. “See you around.” He tries to give the stranger a wave, but mainly only succeeds in splashing himself in the face as he begins the swim back to shore. When he eventually clambers back onto the sand, thinking of finally indulging in a cheeky drink, the man is gone. Or perhaps not; it’s hard to tell so far out into the ocean, and it’s unclear where the water ends and sky begins. 

~~~

The next day, and thankfully only mildly hungover, Kili goes back down to the beach. His stubble is getting a bit too long and itches like hell in the heat, but he doesn’t want to waste any of the limited time he has here maintaining his facial hair. And, as unappealing as the idea of a relationship is in the wake of his last one, he wouldn’t mind bumping into the muscular blonde he met yesterday again. He can still window shop, right? So if his post-breakfast swim this morning has a double purpose, then so be it.  
The sea is pleasantly cool, and just as inviting as the day before; a dozen or so people already out for a morning swim before the beach gets busy for the day. Kili has only just swum out of his depth when he hears a splash behind him, and turns to see the very man he was hoping for.

“Hello again,” he says with what is hopefully a friendly smile, not an ‘I want to tap that’ smile.

The stranger cocks his head, apparently surprised to see him. “You’re back?”

“Yep,” Kili flips himself onto his back and floats there, looking to the sky, and wishing for his sunglasses against the glare. “I couldn’t keep away. From the water, that is,” he adds quickly. 

“Understandable,” he replies, and Kili turns his head slightly to sneak a glance at him.

His eyes are closed, but his face turned to the sun, letting its warmth soak up into his skin. He seems to pay a great deal of attention to his hair – something that Kili didn’t have time to notice the day before – although dishevelled by the water, the man’s beard and thick hair is adorned with several small clips and beads. The tops of his shoulders are just breaking the surface of the water, and Kili notices strange scars in geometric patterns going down his arm. Some form of traditional inkless tattoo, perhaps? It’s unusual, but Kili likes it. He wonders if the stranger has anything pierced... his thoughts are wandering in a dangerous direction, and since he has no desire to be sporting a boner while in the sea with a strange man he barely knows, he clears his throat and changes the subject. 

“What’s your accent anyway? Sure as hell isn’t English. And you don’t sound like you’re from around here either.”

“That’s because I’m not,” he cracks an eye open to look at Kili. “I come from very far away. But I like it here.”

“Mmm, me too,” Kili agrees, “I feel I could stay here forever. But then I guess it wouldn’t be a holiday.”

They chat for a while about nothing in particular, but Kili is more than happy with the man’s company. He’s intelligent, with a very dry sense of humour, and shoulders Kili wants to grab hold of and bite. But he’ll control himself, because this holiday is all about him, and celebrating his status as a single man. As tempting as a holiday fling would be... he doesn’t want to ruin his friendship with the stranger before it’s even started.  
Instead, he points to a deserted beach further along the coast.

“Race you to the shore?” He raises an eyebrow in challenge.

“If you really think you can win,” the stranger says with a smirk, “then you’re on.”

Kili doesn’t wait for a reply, launching himself underwater and into a smooth front crawl, determined to win. He is an average swimmer at best, but what he lacks in skill he makes up in determination. Or so he tells himself.  
A short distance from the shore, he looks up to see the stranger already there, flashing him a lazy smile and a little wave. 

“How the fuck did you do that?” Kili is astonished by how fast the man made it to shore, but is distracted when he accidentally inhales a noseful of seawater. “Fine! You win,” he calls with a laugh through his coughing. Swimming in to shore at a more sedate pace, he notices a large rock, still far enough into the water to allow for diving in. Not to be outdone, Kili changes course and heads for the rock. “But can you dive, big man?” He shouts over his shoulder as he hauls himself out of the sea and onto the red stone. 

“You can’t jump off there,” the man calls back.

Kili snorts, “I think you’ll find I can.”

“No,” the stranger’s swimming quickly through the surf like a dolphin, and Kili’s all the more determined to show off. “I mean that there’s a lot of hidden rocks off this part of the coast. You cannot dive here.”

“Pfft, I’ll be fine.” Kili waves a hand in derision as he reaches the top. “Watch and learn, fish-boy.”

“What?” The stranger seems surprised by his choice of words, but before he can comment further, Kili is bending his knees ready to jump. “No, wait!”

And that’s the last Kili hears as he launches himself into the waiting waters, still pleasantly unaware of the rocks just below the surface. He lands in the water just fine, lacking any real grace, but uninjured. Unfortunately, on the way up he’s not so lucky. 

~~~

When he wakes up, Kili feels like he’s hungover all over again. Which is strange, because the one from the night before should be long gone by now, and the last thing he remembers is going for a swim with the blonde stranger with killer arms, no alcohol involved. He tries to open his eyes, and instantly closes them again against the sun. He must be hungover; all the symptoms are there: he can’t deal with light, his head feels like he smashed it against a wall, he feels he could vomit at the slightest movement (although his throat feels like he already has) and his mouth feels like it’s had a coating of sand. 

Oh wait, it has.

He hurriedly rolls onto his front, coughing and spitting lingering sand and seawater out of his mouth. When he’s done, he looks up, squinting against the dying sunlight and rubbing the back of his head. There’s a significantly large bump there. He looks around him, along the length of the deserted beach, sand dyed orange by the sunset and the small waves rolling to the shore glittering and making him blink at the brightness. Except the beach isn’t deserted.  
The blonde stranger is lying on his front in the shallows, stretched out as the feeble waves break against him. “I told you there were rocks,” he offers Kili a nervous smile, “you hit your head.”

“Ugh,” Kili rasps and pushes his hair out of his eyes, poking again at the bump on his head, “Yeah, thanks. Very helpful.”

The stranger just gives a little musical laugh, and Kili still hasn’t ruled out that he’s somehow drunk, or more likely concussed, because the man is positively glowing under the orange light, gold hair and bronzed skin dazzling and ethereal. If his head didn’t feel like it was going to fall off, he probably would have dragged himself across the sand and ravished him, any intention of holiday celibacy forgotten. Then blondie shifts in the water, and Kili knows he must have hit his head pretty damn hard, because the stranger doesn’t have legs. He has a tail. 

_A fucking fish tail._

“Shit,” he knows he’s staring, but what the fuck else is he meant to do.

He gets a frown in return. “What?”

“You –“ his voice comes out too high, and he clears his throat, “you have a... umm...” he gestures at the scaled appendage the blonde is waving lazily in the water. 

“Tail?”

“Yes!” Kili nods frantically, starting to panic just a tiny bit, fingers scrabbling in the sand to find purchase and sit up. 

“Hmm,” he looks down at his tail in slight confusion, like he’d forgotten it was there. “Yes, there is that.” His gaze snaps back to Kili, blue and intense and Kili can’t look away. “That a problem?”

“Ermm...” Kili honestly doesn’t know how to answer that. “I’m not sure yet.” He hesitates, and he’s not sure whether it’s the possible concussion or just plain ballsy curiosity that makes him say what he says next. “Where’s your cock?” 

“I’m sorry?”

“Well,” Kili sits up properly, then wishes he hadn’t, “people have these fantasies don’t they, about mer people. You know, getting washed up on a desert island and having a three way with two beautiful mermaids and the like.” He shrugs. “So I was just wondering, how does that work? There’s nothing visible there,” he gestured to where the merman’s groin should be, ignoring his cry of indignation, “so, what happens when you want to shag? Do you have the same kind of parts as fish and stuff? Can you even bang humans, or does it have to be an exclusively merman/merlady kind of thing?”

The stranger raises an eyebrow at him, like he’s not sure whether to laugh or give him a bollocking for being so rude. “I’m not going to discuss my genitalia with you.”

Kili shrugs. “Shame.”

“Hmm.” The blonde’s face is partially in shadow with the sun setting behind him, meaning Kili didn’t notice his face flush pink. 

“So,” Kili leans back, letting the warmth of the sun dry his damp skin, “you saved me. Why? Don’t you merpeople drag us poor stupid humans down to the depths of the ocean and eat us, or something similarly morbid?”

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous, of course we don’t eat people. As to why I saved you,” he shrugs and absently scratches at the scales just below his hip, “I like you.”

“Oh really?” Kili flashes him a smile. “Well, in that case, thank you. I’m obviously very grateful you didn’t leave me to drown.”  
“You’re very welcome.”

“And may I know the name of my saviour?”

The blonde returns his smile. “Of course you may. My name is –“ he then makes a strange sound; at first deep and rolling like waves, then high and nattering like the cries of seabirds.

“What?” Kili looks at him in disbelief. “I was meant to understand that?”

“Ah.” He sheepishly picks at one of the beads in his hair. “I forgot you wouldn’t understand.”

“Wait, you have your own language?”

“Of course we do! Do you always ask this many stupid questions, or is this just because you hit your head?”

Kili chooses to ignore that last remark. “But you’ve been speaking to me in English this whole time; from when we first met.”

The stranger nodded. “Yes. It’s not safe to live as close to humans as we do without knowing some of your words. That way, we can avoid the obvious dangers – fishing boats, surfers, you get the idea. I know more of your tongue than most, perhaps.”

“Why’s that?”

“It interests me,” he replies, but doesn’t quite meet Kili’s eye. 

“Right. Well, I still have to call you something. Make that noise again.”

“You mean my name?”

“Yeah, that.”

He huffs in irritation, but does as Kili asks anyway, repeating the strange rolling syllables as he did a moment ago.

Kili tries and fails to copy, and the other winces at his attempts to say his name. “Filimahu... me...ni... nope not gunna happen. But I need to call you something...” he grins as an idea occurs to him. “How’s ‘Fili’ sound to you?”

“Strange,” the newly christened Fili tries out his new name on his tongue. “Fili... It’ll do.” He shrugs. “So, what is your name?”

“Kili,” he grins, “pleased to meet you.”

“Kili,” the merman says flatly, unimpressed, “which just happens to rhyme with Fili?”

“Yep,” Kili is thoroughly pleased with himself, laughing as Fili flicks water at him in mock irritation.

It occurs to him an hour later, when it’s very nearly dark and he really should be getting back to his hotel, that Fili may be the first person he’s met in months who he actually enjoys speaking to. So even if all this turns out to be nothing but an elaborate coma dream after splitting his head open on that rock, he’s determined to make the most of it.

“Hey Fili,” he cuts his new friend off mid-sentence, “can I see you tomorrow?”

The smile the man gives his is so bright and genuine that Kili can’t help but smile in return.  
Man, is he in trouble.


End file.
